Army of the Potomac

Unity was not emboldening the Union Army leadership. In Washington, many important figures were continuing to plot McClellan’s downfall. The Secretary of War was brazenly seeking statements from anyone that help build his case that the general was at fault for the defeat by not completing his assault on Richmond. As well, the secretary was criticizing his withdrawal as “being made dilatory fashion.” The withdrawal had nothing to do with the general; in fact he protested his orders from Washington the entire month of August. There was a slight delay; in fact, between the time Halleck ordered the sick and sounded to be evacuated and the time the full withdrawal from Harrison’s Landing took place. This led to Halleck complaining that the general “had not obeyed orders ‘with the promptness I expected and the national safety, in my…

aggressive leader. General Hooker spearheaded the Union assault at the Battle of Antietam, which ended in a stalemate. During the devastating Union defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg, General Hooker’s units sustained heavy casualties. General Hooker recognized the futility of the Union’s effort to assault the Confederate forces that were firmly entrenched and repeatedly repelled the Union’s assaults. After the defeat at Fredericksburg, General Hooker was so critical of the leadership…

In April 1861, General Robert E. Lee was offered command of the Union Army by Abraham Lincoln. Lee declined this offer writing “I cannot raise my hand against my birthplace, my home, my children,” (p.81). The General a few days later, accepted his appointment as commander in chief to Virginia;s military. Lee knew that the North was plentiful in resources so they would win a war of abrasion. With this in mind, he hoped that the south could win a few battles and pressure Lincoln to stop the…

It was not only the first major battle of the Union and Confederate Armies, but it was also the Union’s first loss. The battle took place on 21 July 1861 and it referred as the battle of Manassas, however, became known as the Battle of the Bull Run due to meander stream where the battle took placed named Bull Run. It is important to point out that the battle was in repercussion from the attack of the Confederates Armies at Fort Sumter on 12 April 1861 near Charlestown South Carolina, “this is…

volunteers” (41). After this, another bill for an additional five hundred thousand was signed. This action showed that Lincoln was serious about the war. He knew they needed troops, so he made sure that the Union got them. Another instance of Lincoln’s direct involvement was when “at the end of January he issues two orders to force Halleck and Buell as well as McClellan into action” (69). With this order, Lincoln wanted “principle union armies to advance more or less simultaneously to threaten…

Over 600,000 casualties was the devastating result of the Civil War, America’s bloodiest military conflict. The South’s decision to secede from the Union is what prompted the onset of the Civil War, which started April 12, 1861- May 9,1865. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was a Colonel for the Union army. Although he was in multiple battles in the Civil War, he is most remembered for his role in the Battle of Gettysburg. Of all battles fought during the Civil War, it was argued that the Battle of…

General Dan Sickles spent his life after the battle claiming that he had forced decisions at the battle at Gettysburg onto Meade because he had intended to retreat. Meade had no intention of winning the battle and wanted to retreat. General Sickles claim was supported by General Butterfield, who stated that Meade ordered him to prepare a retreat order for the Union army. Butterfield and Sickles were good friends, so it is argued whether they can be trusted, Meade didn’t trust them. Sickles was a…

ever fought in North America. During the first three days of July 1863, the Union Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia turned a small town in Southern Pennsylvania into the site of a struggle for the future of the United States. More than 50,000 men fell as casualties (men listed as killed, wounded, or missing/captured), a scale of suffering never seen before or…

Just as George Washington, Lee tried to cross the Potomac River in Virginia. Tens of thousands of men were either captured, wounded, or killed just on the Confederate side during the Battle of Antietam. Then, in early May of 1864, the Battle of the Wilderness began. The Army of the Potomac, led by General Ulysses Grant, made a bloody attack on Confederate Forces. Lee was restrained and taken away by his men after one of his own men was wounded by his forces. Finally, on April 2nd, 1865, Lee gave…

As if by accident, elements of the Army of the Potomac happened upon a column of confederate infantry and artillery on the outskirts of Gettysburg. This unit, a cavalry division under the command of Major General John Buford, was able to hold off the confederate troops until they could be reinforced by a division of infantry. However, the confederates were able to reinforce their troops first, and ended up overwhelming the Federal troops, who ran pell-mell through the streets of Gettysburg…